Trump issues stern warning to North Korea: 'Do not try us'

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Wednesday "do not underestimate us and do not try us" as he vowed that the United States would defend itself and its allies against Pyongyang’s nuclear threat.

Trump issued a stern message to North Korea that Washington "will not be intimidated" as he wrapped up a visit to South Korea with a speech to the National Assembly in Seoul. He urged countries around the world to join together to isolate Pyongyang by denying it "any form of support, supply or acceptance".

"We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction. We will not be intimidated," he told South Korean lawmakers. "And we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here, on this ground we fought and died to secure."

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President Trump addresses the National Assembly in South Korea

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President Trump addresses the National Assembly in South Korea

US President Donald Trump (C) addresses the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / Lee Jin-man (Photo credit should read LEE JIN-MAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump (C) addresses the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the South Korean National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

US President Donald Trump (C) applauds at the of his speech to the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Members of the National Assembly listen to US President Donald Trump (not pictured) delivering his addresses in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the South Korean National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

US President Donald Trump (C) addresses the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / Lee Jin-man (Photo credit should read LEE JIN-MAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump (C) addresses the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017.
Trump's marathon Asia tour moves to South Korea, another key ally in the struggle with nuclear-armed North Korea, but one with deep reservations about the US president's strategy for dealing with the crisis. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Pro-Trump supporters wave the US flags during a rally welcoming US President Donald Trump's visit near the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017 as Trump is due to address the South Korea's national assembly.
North Korea poses a worldwide threat that needs worldwide action, President Donald Trump said in Seoul November 7, but insisted 'we are making a lot of progress' in reining in the rogue state. / AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

Pro-Trump supporters hold placards showing portraits of US President Donald Trump (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-In (R) during a rally welcoming Trump's visit near the National Assembly in Seoul on November 8, 2017 as Trump is due to address the South Korea's national assembly.
North Korea poses a worldwide threat that needs worldwide action, President Donald Trump said in Seoul November 7, but insisted 'we are making a lot of progress' in reining in the rogue state. / AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the South Korean National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Anti-Trump protesters hold signs near the South Korean National Assembly where U.S. President Donald Trump is due to speak, in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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"The world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens it with nuclear devastation," Trump said.

Trump returned to tough talk against North Korea a day after he appeared to dial back some of his bellicose rhetoric and instead took more of a carrot-and-stick approach.

He warned Pyongyang on Tuesday of the U.S. military buildup he has ordered in the area but also offered it a diplomatic opening to "make a deal".

The speech came after Trump's attempt to make an unannounced visit to the heavily fortified border separating North and South Korea was aborted earlier on Wednesday when dense fog prevented his helicopter from landing, officials said.

Trump tried to travel to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) - the doorstep of the North Korean nuclear standoff – on the final day of a 24-hour visit to ally Seoul. He was then due to fly to China, where U.S. officials say he will press a reluctant President Xi Jinping to tighten the screws further on Pyongyang.

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President Trump's attempted DMZ visit

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President Trump's attempted DMZ visit

White House senior staff discuss the situation as U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. Secret Service counter-assault team members travel by helicopter in the fog alongside President Donald Trump's helicopter in a failed attempt to visit Observation Post Ouellette along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing the two countries outside Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

In a borrowed U.S. Army jacket to keep warm, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders updates reporters on President Donald Trump's failed attempt, preempted by weather, to visit Observation Post Ouellette along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea outside Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. Secret Service counter-assault team members load up to travel by helicopter in the fog alongside President Donald Trump's helicopter in a failed attempt to visit Observation Post Ouellette along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing the two countries outside Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House senior staff discuss the situation as U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) via helicopter to the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (looking at notes) huddles with White House senior staff to discuss the situation as U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House senior staff discuss the situation as U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House senior staff discuss the situation as U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House senior staff discuss the situation as U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car after being grounded from an attempt to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) via helicopter to the truce village of Panmunjom dividing North Korea and South Korea, at a U.S. military post in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to reporters after presidential helicopters returned US President Donald Trump to US Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, South Korea on November 8, 2017, due to bad weather just before they arrived for a vist to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump waits next to helicopters as US Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, South Korea on November 8, 2017, waiting for bad weather to clear so they can try and make a second attempt to fly to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
US President Donald Trump was forced to abandon an attempted surprise visit to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas due to bad weather, a pool report said.The US head of state, who the White House had previously said would not go to the symbolic spot, left his hotel in Seoul early in the morning and went to the Yongsan military base in the city, but a helicopter flight to the DMZ had to be called off due to weather conditions. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

A member of the helicopter squadron accompanying US President Donald Trump looks on as they attempt to fly to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over Seoul, South Korea on November 8, 2017.
The crew was forced to turn around before landing due to bad weather. US President Donald Trump was forced to abandon an attempted surprise visit to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas due to bad weather, a pool report said.The US head of state, who the White House had previously said would not go to the symbolic spot, left his hotel in Seoul early in the morning and went to the Yongsan military base in the city, but a helicopter flight to the DMZ had to be called off due to weather conditions. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Secret Service counter-assault team members, accompanying US President Donald Trump in another helicopter, board a helicopter as they attempt to fly to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over Seoul, South Korea on November 8, 2017.
The crew was forced to turn around before landing due to bad weather. US President Donald Trump was forced to abandon an attempted surprise visit to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas due to bad weather, a pool report said. The US head of state, who the White House had previously said would not go to the symbolic spot, left his hotel in Seoul early in the morning and went to the Yongsan military base in the city, but a helicopter flight to the DMZ had to be called off due to weather conditions. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Secret Service counter-assault team members, accompanying US President Donald Trump in another helicopter, prepare to board a helicopter as they attempt to fly to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over Seoul, South Korea on November 8, 2017.
The crew was forced to turn around before landing due to bad weather. US President Donald Trump was forced to abandon an attempted surprise visit to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas due to bad weather, a pool report said. The US head of state, who the White House had previously said would not go to the symbolic spot, left his hotel in Seoul early in the morning and went to the Yongsan military base in the city, but a helicopter flight to the DMZ had to be called off due to weather conditions. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

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However, Trump and his entourage had to turn back when the weather made it impossible for his helicopter to land in the border area, the White House said. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders described Trump as disappointed and frustrated at having to abandon the visit.

A visit to the DMZ, despite his aides' earlier insistence he had no plans to go there, would have had the potential to further inflame tensions with North Korea.

Trump's earlier threats to "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatened the United States, and the personal insults he exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the North's most recent missile and nuclear tests, had raised fears in the region of military conflict.